1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to packaging method and apparatus of the form-fill type and, more particularly, to a packaging system to pack articles together with inedible agents such as a deoxidizing agent and desiccant for preventing deterioration of the articles, typically foodstuffs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is an ever-increasing demand in the market for pouch packaged food products, typical examples of which are precooked noodles and coffee beans. Recently, some of these packaged products, precooked noodles for example, accompany a deoxidizing agent contained in a small bag in order to prevent oxidization of the foodstuff, together with other small bags containing condiments, garnishes etc. This small bag containing the deoxidizing agent has a shape and dimension very similar to those of the other small bags and usually no attention is paid to prevent a consumer from taking it out of the package, resulting in a possibility that the consumer erroneously mixes the agent with the other edible materials during cooking which might be followed by an accidental ingestion of the agent. Also, coffee beans are sometimes packed together with a desiccant and/or the deoxidizing agent contained in a small bag which is usually taken out of the package with the beans. Thus, a similar problem may arise if the coffee beans are supplied into a grinder directly from the package.
The accidental ingestion of inedible agents such as a deoxidizer and a desiccant can be prevented by fixedly securing the small bag to the package so that it may be retained inside the package even when the foodstuffs are taken out. In order to achieve this there has been developed a package 1 as illustrated in FIG. 1 wherein a small bag 2 has a sealed marginal portion 2a secured to a bottom portion 1a of the package 1. In manufacture, the marginal portion 2a is sandwiched between the opposite edges which are then heat-sealed together to form the bottom portion 1a of the package. In other words, the sealed portion which the package inherently has is utilized to hold the small bag. However, this prior art arrangement requires that the small bag has an extra dimension to provide the marginal portion 2a, and that the marginal portion be subjected to a surface treatment so as to be heat-sealable with the bottom portion 1a. Further, the marginal portion 2a sandwiched between the bottom edges creates bulges in the outer surfaces of the portion 1a and does not permit a pressure to be uniformly applied to the portion 1a during the sealing operation thereof, resulting in an unsatisfactory sealing effect with generation of pinholes in the portion 1a. Such inferior seal is fatal to packages containing foodstuffs.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a packaging method which makes it possible to fix a small auxiliary bag containing inedible agents to the inside of a package without lowering the sealing effect of the package.
Another object of the invention is to provide a packaging method which permits an efficient packaging operation while automatically attaching the auxiliary bag to each package.
A further object of the invention is to provide a packaging method which requires only minimum alterations to a conventional packaging machine of the form-fill type.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a packaging apparatus for implementing the above method which is simple in structure and reliable in operation.